Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG. DE) said it will have to cancel 800 flights on Friday, likely affecting 130,000 passengers, after the pilots’ union announced a one-day strike.
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union said late that pay talks had failed and Lufthansa pilots would stage a 24-hour strike; affecting both passenger and cargo services.
Lufthansa said flight cancellations would affect Frankfurt and Munich airports, adding that several flights would also have to be cancelled.
VC is demanding a 5.5% pay rise this year for its more than 5,000 pilots and automatic inflation compensation thereafter.
“We hope to get back to negotiations as soon as possible,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said. “However, we cannot bear the cost increases associated with VC’s demands either,” he added.